Advanced Muggle Studies
by D.G. Cory
Summary: Summer break for a certain blonde Slytherin just got a lot longer and a bit more painful. What is this new class Droco is in? How is Harry involved? This will eventually be HPDM
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Advanced Muggle Studies

**Author:** D.G. Cory

**Disclaimer:** These are not my characters; they belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. This however is my first attempt at a fan fiction, so please bear with me.

**Rating: **I was going to start off as PG-13 but to be safe I'llgo for M (there issome swearing in the first chapter so I have a feeling more wil continue throughout the story and adult themes might come about too.)

**Summary:** Summer break for a certain blonde Slytherin just got a lot longer and a bit more painful. What is this new class he's in? How is Harry involved? (This will eventually be a HPDM slash)

**Genera:** Romance/Humor

**Warnings:** This is my first attempt at posting something here for others to read. This fic will eventually include slash, as in male x male relations. If you do not like reading about that or find it disgusting, there is a nice back arrow for you to click and take you away from this content. I will however give a warning when things get a little hotter between the two leads. I do not wish to get flamed because someone did not read the warning at the top of the page. This will also contain spoilers from the books, so if you haven't read OotP yet, you might be confused as to some of the plot. This is a work in progress (WIP) and I'll try to stay truthful to the characters, but I make no guarantees.

**Pairings:** Harry/Draco and Hermione/Ron (so far)

**Author's Note:** Thanks for taking an interest in this, I would love feedback. And now on with the story!

**Chapter 1: It started with some parchment...**

"What! No! I absolutely refuse to do this!" Fumed the blond hair boy as he paced back and forth in the large family library. There was a very stern looking woman who was glaring in his general direction. Her pale blue eyes and blond locks gave away the relation between the two.

"It's not for you to decide anymore. This is what's going to happen, so I suggest you go find what you'll need to survive for the time and get ready to leave. The Knight bus will be here in 15 minutes." She let out a slight grin. She had come up with this plan just the previous week and thankfully it wasn't too late to set into motion. Of course her son would be reluctant to follow any of her plans, but surly he must see how this would benefit the family.

"I…I have to take a bus!" The boy was now more outraged about having to take such a common way of transportation than what he was actually going to have to do. With a rather dramatic sigh he realized that his mother wasn't going to budge on that particular point by the icy look in her eyes.

"Fine," He glared at the woman again as he slowly made his way towards the exit of the library. "If there is anything else that you require of me, I'll be in my room until that foul bus arrives." He said sneering.

"Well now that you mentioned it," The woman's grin widened. "Here." She tossed a roll of parchment towards the youth, who caught it with such ease. His eyes widened as a small shock ran through his fingers as he gripped the parchment. Looking up at her with a cold stare in his eyes, he opened the parchment to read its contents. If it was possible for him to loose any more color in his skin, it happened. He paled slightly as his eyes skimmed the words and slowly his eyebrows knitted together. By the end he was glaring at the parchment as if he would like nothing else than to burn it.

"I...I understand." He rolled up the parchment and turned to face his mother. His eyes were as expressionless as he could make them. Bowing rather stiffly from the neck, he left her alone in the library, all the while seething on the inside. He vaguely remembered walking towards his wing of the mansion or climbing the stairs. When his foot solidly hit his school trunk he let out a rather colorful sting of cuss words. Today was going to be one of those days and he almost wished he never got out of bed that morning.

* * *

Quite a ways away, there was another boy who was also in a rather heated argument with another stern faced woman. She had a long neck and a bony face. At the current moment it looked as though her eyes would pop out of her head and she was a strange shade of purple, most likely from trying not to scream. 

"You!" She cried, pointing a finger very dramatically at a sleepy, disgruntled looking youth with a messy mop of black hair on his head. "Out of my sight, now! Obviously you can't do anything right this morning. When you have finally found respect for what your Uncle and I have done for you, come and apologize! Until then, I don't want to see you in this house!"

The boy was trying his hardest not to glare at the loud woman. He looked down at his feet where the left over breakfast of the morning was now laying amongst the shattered remains of a couple of plates. Harry had been up all night long reading one of his hidden spell books and only got to bed as the sun was rising. When his Aunt had pounded on the door that morning to wake him up, he simply rolled over and went back to sleep. By the time he realized what he did, breakfast was over and he was expected to clean up after his relatives. Still groggy from not enough sleep, he collected all of the plates and almost made it to the kitchen sink before stumbling over his feet from a very powerful yawn.

"Fine, you won't be seeing me for a while then." He spoke around gritted teeth. Promptly turned on his heals and dashed upstairs to his room; grabbed a change of cloths and hurried into the bathroom. Once finished with his morning necessities he peeked out from the bathroom and decided that his Aunt must be in the TV room. Sneaking back downstairs, he grabbed himself and apple and proceeded outside to the fresh morning air.

_"Ah, what a way to start off summer break."_ Harry mused to himself. It was only a week into break and he already missed his friends. He had been hoping to spend some time this summer at the Burrow with the Weasleys, but was still waiting for a reply from Ron. Hedwig had yet to return with a message from his best friend. Now that he was out of that dreaded house, Harry found himself once again lounging under the open window in the front yard hidden by the surrounding shrubbery.

Watching the fluffy white clouds over head pass him by slowly, Harry pulled out the stolen apple and proceeded to nibble on it. Hearing a loud bang, like a car back firing a couple blocks away he wondered what else could possible go wrong that day.

* * *

_"Shit!_" The blonde youth panicked, who was grabbing for the nearest handle inside the bus. He had some bad misconceptions on how this trip was going to proceed, but when the dreadful bus appeared at the road leading up to their mansion, Draco felt his heart sink. It arrived with a loud crack and a sudden halt, almost crashing into an old gargoyle stature that guarded the entrance to their mansion, if said gargoyle hadn't leapt aside. As he was getting on the bus he didn't turn around and wave at the blonde woman who was standing at the front door, nor did he want to know if she was still grinning at his misfortunes. 

"_Shit! Shit!"_ He thought to himself as the bus leapt from destination to destination. He was not getting used to sudden frequent stops and starts, and it was doing absolutely nothing for his stomach which decided to learn how to do acrobatics, flip flopping around. He glared at the pimply faced worker who welcomed him to the Knight bus when he first got on. Somehow all of this must be his fault.

Trying to distract himself from the odd sensations of movement the bus made, he tried to concentrate on the other witches and wizards who were his fellow passengers, much to his dislike. Some were actually sleeping on beds while others tried to drink their morning coffee while reading _The Daily Prophet_. Draco managed to catch a headline title from the newspaper, the Ministry claimed to be capturing some known Death Eaters. This news didn't sit well with Draco as he reflected on his father, one of the newer residents of Azkaban. Why his mother thought this "new plan" would help, he didn't have the faintest idea. Rolling his eyes, Draco tried to figure out how many more stops it would take till they reached his destination. It was as if on cue, Pimple face showed up by his side, slowly chewing on an old toothpick.

"Hey, aren't you that. . . "He started to ask, but seeing the look of pure hatred in the boys face, was suddenly at a loss for words.

"I'm what?" The blonde responded with a slight tilt of his head and a very cold tone to his voice.

"Uh," Pimple face replied, searching for something to say, "that…boy? Whose stop is next? Right 'Ern?" He looked desperately over his shoulder to the driver of the bus looking for some sort of help from having Draco glare at him.

"You mean the stop over in Little Whinging? Number 6 Private Drive was it?" The driver replied as he cranked the wheel far to the left as the bus jumped four lanes of traffic in Muggle London.

"No, it was number 4." The blonde growled, trying to remain calm and dignified as his stomach did another nifty flip.

"Oh yeah, that one's next." The driver called back, now twirling the wheel to the right, and the bus responded by jumping onto a different bridge.

"Great. I can't wait; you can drop me off at the end of the block." Draco hopped that the trip was almost over; his breakfast was just about ready to abandon him.

With another very loud crack and a nerve racking jolt Draco managed to stay sitting on his assigned bed by mere luck. A thought filtered through his mind of how undignified it would've been to be thrown to the floor while this pimple faced git was just standing there staring at him with growing suspicion on his face. Chancing a look up, Draco noticed they had entered a very strange place. All of the houses looked exactly alike, even the yards had certain "sameness" about them.

With a final lurch, the bus stopped in the middle of a small park at the end of a road. Draco assumed it was Private Drive. Getting to his feet, he shot one menacing glance towards Pimple face and started heading towards the exit. Upon getting off the bus, Draco mused to himself that all of the swings had to jump out of the way of the bus. Within a moment, his suitcase was delivered by his side with a grunt from Pimple face himself.

"Number 4 is jus' down that way," The bus boy spoke nervously, pointing a finger down towards number 4. Draco nodded once and grabbed his suitcase and started walking away from that nightmarish bus. He heard the youth get back on the bus and heard his next words to the driver.

"Hey Ern, isn't this where we picked up 'Arry Potter, that one night?" Draco's eye twitched slightly at the name, but realization hit him a second later. The famous Harry Potter got picked up by the Knight bus? And at night none the less. Draco grinned to himself and stored that information away for a later interrogation, eh, question, as the Knight bus gave a final crack and pop and was gone from the quite neighborhood.

With a sigh of determination, Draco grabbed the handle of his suitcase and started off towards Number 4 Private Drive. The wheels of his luggage clicking along the sidewalk as Draco slowed down with a growing disbelief. His hand slid into this outer robe and pulled out that dreaded parchment. Reading the address to himself again, a cold dread settled in his stomach. This was it; this small house in front of him was it. Rolling up the parchment and walking up towards the door, he tried to steel his nerves and plan what he would do. Stopping short of the door, he just stood there for a moment. Not quite sure on proper Muggle etiquette when approaching a situation like this. His heart was hammering in his chest, trying to escape, when he lifted his hand up to the door to knock. That seemed to be a safe idea. Just before he could knock, he heard a rustling sound to his left and a familiar, annoying voice.

"Malfoy?"

_"Shit! Shit! Shit!"_ He was screaming inside his head, dreading to turn and look at the boy who made his life a rather interesting living hell.

* * *

Harry finished his apple quickly enough, but his stomach gave a slight growl at still being hungry. He could hear his Aunt bustling around inside, most likely cleaning up the mess he made. Harry was actually surprised she didn't make him clean it up. It could be that those were a favorite set of dishes, or maybe she wanted to throw the reaming set of those dishes at Harry for his incompetence. He snorted to himself, it's not like he meant to do it. He set a goal this summer for him self, to try to keep the fighting to a minimum between himself and the Dursleys. It wasn't going quite as planned so far. 

An odd squeaking noise could be heard down the street. For a moment Harry was reminded of Kings Cross and all the people pulling those silly little suitcases after them. He grinned at this thought as it led him back to thinking about Hogwarts. As it turned out, the odd squeaking noise paused in front of his house, and then proceeded towards the door. Harry wondered briefly if there was a new guy delivering the post, but as he flipped over onto his stomach to spy on the mailman, he discovered that he was indeed as wrong as anyone could be.

None other than the pureblood brat himself stood at Harry's door step. His eyes bulged with disbelief, this wasn't possible. Why would Malfoy be here in Little Whinging? His brain didn't quite wrap around the fact that Malfoy looked as if the door knocker might bite him. Not thinking and just reacting to what he wanted to know, he slowly stood up from the bushes and stared at Malfoy, his mouth hanging open every so slightly.

"Malfoy?" He asked, his voice sounded a little breathy and shocked to say the least. He waited for the boy to turn towards him with some scathing remark and the usual sneer in place on that pointed face of his, but nothing happened.

"_What the fuck?"_ Thought Harry to himself, now not quite too sure what to do since the boy in front of him was looking absolutely petrified. Harry decided to try again, but slightly different.

"Umm…Malfoy, what are you doing here?" He asked with a slight bite to his voice at the end of the question. Something must have clicked, because the other boy finally responded.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Potter?" He turned and spat back, now looking at the other boy fully for the first time since school let out. First thing Draco noticed was that other boy was starting to get a bit of a tan. He was wearing some form of ridiculous oversized muggle clothing and was standing in the middle of a bush. Draco couldn't help himself; he let out a strangled bark of a laugh at the sight. "Looks like Potter finally got planted where he belongs, in the garden with all of the other weeds."

Harry looked down and realized that Malfoy was right for once, he was standing amid his Aunts garden. His cheeks felt warm suddenly and he kept his face down for an extra moment.

"So why are you here? You are aware that you're surrounded by Muggles, right? Or has all of that bleach finally gotten to your brain and you've lost it?" Harry resorted back to trading insults with Malfoy. He also stepped out of the garden and walked towards the front door, which happened to be where the pale boy was standing.

Malfoy's pulse sped up slightly. Out here in the muggle world he couldn't do magic. At the comfort of his own home, with so many barrier spells in place around the mansion he could do as much magic as he wished till he turned blue in the face. But here, it was different. Different rules, different boundaries and expectations. He realized that he was indeed going to have to adapt to this strange new world if he wished to keep any of his dignity in tack. Feeling as though his personal space was being threatened by Potter's advance towards him, Malfoy took a slight step back and bumped into the door. He suddenly felt trapped and did not like it one bit. How dare his mother put him in this situation!

"My hair color just happens to be natural! And, if you want any answers, I suggest you act a little nicer towards me." Draco tried to put his cold mask up again, but a slight sheen could be seen on his forehead. _"It's just the sun, that's all it is."_ He wasn't very successful convincing himself of that. Apparently Potter didn't buy the act either.

"Whatever." Harry grumbled, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. "I can stand here all day, but it looks like you might just melt with all of those heavy, black robs on under this sun, and it's just going to get hotter. Why don't you tell me what brings you to this neck of the woods and go along on your merry little way?"

"Heh, you're going to love this then." The blonde boy grinned back, recognizing when he needed to play his last card. He slid his hand into his robs and noticed Potter flinched, probably thinking he was going for his wand. Instead he pulled out the role of parchment and held it out for Potter to take.

Harry looked very suspicious at what Malfoy was offering him. It looked like a normal role of parchment, but he didn't trust anything that came from a Malfoy if you couldn't see where it kept its brain. A strange twisted grin graced his face as he wondered if that applied to the boy standing in front of him. Only one way to find out, Harry reached forward and grabbed the parchment and felt a very strange tingling sensation run though his fingers and up his arm. Glaring at the other boy now, he wondered what he just got himself into. But the blonde boy seemed to be paying more attention to his nails than Harry at that moment. He unrolled the parchment and started reading. His heart felt like it had been hit by a semi truck and his gut was directly under all eighteen wheels. A cold sweat broke out over him even though the sun was beating down his back. This wasn't good. No, not good at all. Harry quickly collapsed onto the step and held his head in his hands feeling his world spiraling down out of his control. He distantly noticed the other boy sitting down beside him.

"This, this can't be happening. Why would he do something like this?" Harry murmured to himself, thinking mostly out loud.

"I don't know the reasoning behind that old loon's actions. I can't even explain why my mother would put me through this." Draco replied, knowing for sure who Harry was referring to. "I was forced into this mess, I had no choice. I am a victim!"

"Will you shut up? Do you want my _muggle_ relatives to find you out here in those clothes you are wearing?" Harry snapped, not wanting to have to deal with who was stuck by his side.

"Why would my clothes matter? I think they look nice." Draco muttered, brushing off some invisible dust.

"Aren't you supposed to blend in? Do you even own any muggle clothes for that matter?" Harry asked, skipping over answering Malfoy's question and yet dreading his next answer.

"Yes, of course I have some muggle clothing," Draco replied indignantly," I just didn't want to wear them yet. They feel strange." Grumbling and talking down towards his feet.

"Well, lets get this over with. I see that my Aunt needs to see this too." Harry replied referring to the parchment that was held loosely in his hands, almost forgotten with a sense of dread and defeat curling up in his stomach. He made a move to get up, but stopped suddenly and tuned towards the blonde sitting next to him. "How did you get placed here anyway? I didn't know that you took the first class." There was a faint curious spark peeking through his green eyes as Harry waited for the other boys' response.

"I…uh, I didn't." Draco glanced up quickly and made eye contact. He was deeply surprised at how well the other boy was taking the news, well, at least a lot better than he did back home.

A slight grin broke out onto the dark haired boys face. "You mean to tell me that you got stuck in an advanced class never having taking the introductory class to begin with?" For his response the blonde only turned his head away as a slight flush over took his cheeks and nodded, not trusting his voice. He could hear Potter next to him laughing at his predicament.

"Just remember that you're stuck in this mess too." Draco tried to shoot back, but actually failed to sound very threatening.

"Whatever do you mean by that Malfoy? You're the one who's perfect class marks are at stake here. Beside, even if I wanted to, they wouldn't let me take this class." Harry was still grinning, he enjoyed seeing Malfoy out of his element, and he was very much out of his element at the current moment.

"What! Why wouldn't they let you take this class?" Malfoy replied glaring.

"Hmm…let's think really hard. Why are you here? Maybe it's because I could take this class, sleep through everything and still pass with outstanding marks? Yes, that must be it." Harry was still grinning like a fool.

"Well then, there is no reason why I shouldn't be able to pass this class as well." Malfoy sneered slightly tilting his chin up, watching the other boy roll his eyes.

"Oh man, this is going to be a long summer if I have to put up with that attitude every day." Harry groaned as he stood up. "Come on, let's go find my Aunt and hope she takes this news better than my Uncle. I'm just wondering what to tell them about why you're here." Harry mused.

"Why not just tell them the truth? It's right there in black ink in front of your face." Draco replied with a bitter tone in his voice, also getting up and dusting off his clean black robes again. He heard the other boy laughing at this next to him.

"Sure, I'll waltz in and say 'Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, I would like you to meet Draco Malfoy. He is a pureblood wizard who also attends Hogwarts with me, be we are bitter enemies from day one and fight all of the time and share completely opposite views on life. Do you mind if he stays here for the summer while taking an Advance Muggle Studies class? Which he never took the first class and actually hates all muggles in general? Oh, what is Advance Muggle Studies you ask? That means he is going to tag along after me watching you guys and learning about your behaviors and characteristics and how you survive day to day with out magic. Yes, that is right; he'll be here all summer long. Did I mention that his father tried to kill me a couple of times? Yes, I know you will all be great acquaintances when this is over.' That will go over very smoothly I think." By the end of Harry's little speech he was clutching his side almost doubled over in fits of laughter.

Draco was slowly stepping away from the crazed boy. It couldn't be that bad he thought to himself. Suddenly he felt like something very awful was going to be happening soon and at his expense, that or he would be caught up in the middle of everything. Still eyeing the other boy as if he sprouted another head, Draco wished desperately he never did get out of bed today.

* * *

End of chapter 1 

**A/N: **Thank you for reading, I would love some feedback on this, I have an idea of where I want to continue with this story, but would appreciate to know what the readers (you) think about it so far. So you see that little button at the bottom of the screen that says "submit review?" Yes? That's right, click on it and make my day and let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters, they are J.K. Rowling, and I just like sticking them in compromising situations for fun. I'm not making anything off of this, and all I really have is some burnt toast.

**Warning:** If you do not like Slash (male x male) relations, than you most likely will not enjoy this story. This is your chance to hit the back arrow so don't come crying to me afterwards. I'll post another warning when things get hot and heavy, but we're not quite there yet.

**A/N:** First off, I wish to thank everyone who reviewed! That sure did take me along time to update. Well, I'm finished with school so that gives melots of free time so look forward to quicker updates! I'll cross myfingersfor next time. Oh, and I like reviews! You wouldn't believe how inspired I feel after reading them!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Potter was still laughing from his own joke that only he could understand while a slightly ruffled Draco stood off to the side. Draco was trying to decide if he should be running away or not when the door that he was leaning against for support flew open and he suddenly found himself falling backwards. Crashing down with very little grace he distinctly heard a very loud, angry woman screaming at Potter, who now had the decency to shut up.

"Harry! What is all this racket about! You know full well what the neighbors might think if they see you out here! You had better…" The woman paused midway through her frenzied rant to realize that there was something blocking her path. Looking down she noticed one very shocked Draco Malfoy starring up at her. The woman's face shifted suddenly from anger, to bewilderment to a very icy, piercing glare.

"Are you one of Harry's _friends_?" She spat out, shocking Draco back into motion. He slowly picked himself up, noticing how all eyes were on him, and brushed off his clothes.

"Me? A friend of his?" Draco looked as if he just took a bite of a huge nasty bug as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder to clarify with out doubt who they were talking about. "Not for all the gold in Gringotts bank would I be friends with him." The woman's eyes quickly darted to his robes and then shot a murderous glance at Potter, shifting her eyes to the suitcase then back to the new boy standing on her doorstep.

"You're trying to run away again aren't you, boy?" She hissed like an angry mother goose to Potter. Draco caught on to what he guessed was running through the woman's mind, judging by the way her eyes kept flickering back to the forgotten suitcase. Draco once again filed that tad-bit of information away for later usage. Mussing over why Potter would try to run away from this place, even if it did look awful small and meager.

"I only just got here, why ever dear Aunt would I be trying to get away ever so quickly?" Potter shot back, but Draco noticed that it did not have the usual bite to it. A slow grin spread over Potter's face as he continued, his aunt looking more and more agitated by the moments. "In fact, and most unfortunately, I'll be staying here for the full summer break. The plans that I have been working on seem to be no longer of importance, considering how things have changed around here."

"What do you mean by things changing? How have they changed?" She barked suddenly, eyes now darting around the small yard and to the neighbor's windows. Just as Potter was opening his mouth to answer her question she cut in. "Not here boy! Inside! We have already put on too much of a display. I just know that I'll be hearing about this from that nosy Mrs. Reynolds two houses down," She abruptly turned on her heals and marched inside, not waiting for the boys to follow and close the door.

"Grab your stuff Malfoy," Potter snapped at him as he trudged up towards the house and disappeared inside. Draco's brain was still trying to process everything that had happened on this particularly odd morning just silently nodded, glared, and gathered up his possessions and also journeyed inside.

* * *

Aunt Petunia was blocking the hallway down to the kitchen and strumming her fingers against her crossed arms as Harry walked inside. He felt his stomach drop another few notches. He really was caught off guard with Malfoy showing up on his doorstep. When he heard the boy's reason he was overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness, but he somehow found everything to be very amusing when said out loud and seeing Malfoy's uncomprehending look.

He was now leaning against the wall when Malfoy walked in. He still looked a bit too pale as if being in the sun didn't suit his complexion. Or maybe it was just this situation that didn't fit his complexion; Harry grinned at that thought. Anything to see a Malfoy out of his element.

Malfoy dropped his suitcase by the base of the stairs and closed the door. Turning around his steely eyes hardening to the new task faced before him and crossing his arms with a slight lift of the chin. Harry noticed that Aunt Petunia and Malfoy were doing some pretty serious glaring at each other. He was mildly curious who would win this round. Finally a small grin escaped from Malfoy. Harry could hardly believe his eyes.

"You do well for a muggle with no proper training, I'll give you that, but the day wears on and I could be doing something a bit more productive than standing in this hallway." The usually drawl returning to his voice. Aunt Petunia gave a disgruntled sniff and then turned her attentions to Harry.

"Just what exactly are these changes you are referring to? Now no more of this beating around the bush nonsense, it tires quickly." Harry could hear Malfoy snort at the last comment. _"Great, just another thing Malfoy can now tease me about."_ With a heavy sigh, Harry handed the role of parchment that he'd been clutching over to his aunt.

Harry watcher her closely as she grabbed it and started reading; if she felt anything when she first touched it like Harry did, she didn't give herself away. However her overall expression was slowly growing darker by the moment. Just when Harry thought that all hell was going to break loose, his aunt's eyes widened in surprise and shock as she lost what color she had in her bony face.

Her eyes were now flickering in between the two boys standing in front of her. A soft look of horror spread over her features. Opening and closing her mouth a few times in a good fish impression, she was completely speechless. This more so than the yelling surprised Harry; to the point of wondering if there was a part that he missed reading after the initial shock hit him. Petunia was now pointing at the boys but yet no words came forth. With a shake of her head, she pushed past Harry and made her way towards the decanter of scotch in the living room beyond. Pouring herself a glass and downing it rather quickly, the two boys stood in the door way and could only look on.

"Is this normal muggle behavior?" Mused Malfoy quietly next to Harry's shoulder.

"For her? No, not quite. I was expecting her to go back to yelling again." Harry replied.

"Ah, so this is from shock? I take it she didn't like what she read then." That damn smirk back in place again.

"And you're trying to convince me you handled it better than this?" Harry raised an eyebrow in question.

"Ah, I never claimed that." Malfoy grumbled a slight hint of pink spreading to his cheeks. Remembering quite well the tantrum he threw and how closely Potter was examining him.

"Heh, I can only imagine the kind of hissy fit you had when you found out about this. Unless," Harry's featuring darkening while taking in the other boy, "This could just be another one of your rather elaborate plots to somehow ruin my life."

"You think I would volunteer to be here?" Malfoy snapped.

"No, but I do think that you would follow your dear father's orders."

"Well, thanks to you, it's been a while since I've last seen or even talked with him." Now Malfoy was starting to glare at Harry in return. Harry could see in Malfoy's eyes a very dark emotion that was beginning to grow with the passing seconds of eerie silence only broken by Aunt Petunia refilling her glass.

Harry was starting to consider if they would even survive the summer under the same roof, for at the moment it seemed rather hostile and dangerous just standing in the hallway together. With pent up emotions and a perfect target standing in front of him, Harry was ready to start trading punches with Malfoy, if it wasn't for the sudden noise form the living room. Catching everyone's attention. Aunt Petunia dropped her third glass of scotch onto the freshly vacuumed carpet and the two boys whipped their heads around looking for the sound. Harry automatically started to go for his wand before he found the source of the noise.

Looking over at the window he saw a rather large owl tapping on the siding of the house, trying to get everyone's attention and succeeding very well.

Anut Petunia gave a small hic up and staggered over to the large bird. Holding out the roll of parchment, the owl quickly snapped it's beak around it and took off promptly. Petunia stood by the window glaring at the bird as if by her will alone it would suddenly drop out of the sky dead. The two boys who were previously fuming with each other were now starring at Petunia with odd looks on their faces.

Draco was grumbling under his breath, also glaring out the window at the retreating form of the bird. "Damn ministry birds, think they know everything, why if I could only-"

Harry quickly interrupted Malfoy's ramblings, "Since when has she been comfortable with owls and our post system?" he wondered out loud. Neither boy really listening to the other.

Petunia on the other hand, was having a very passionate talk with the now empty window. "You think that you can just barge in here! Force us! Force him on us!" Aunt Petunia started pointing around the living room for more emphasis. "Good for nothing, rotting-hic- What will the neighbors say now? And Vernon! This was bad enough the first time! A second? No! No! -hic- And poor Duddlers!" She started sobbing at this point. "He doesn't like strangers! Oh how well we have taught him." She had finally made it back to the love seat and threw herself down, but managed not to spill anymore of her scotch, which had once again been refilled.

"Eh, and I'm stuck here in this loony bin?" Draco spat out, watching the drunk and upset woman in front of him. "I'll curse you yet mother!" He ended up growling.

"Leave her alone Malfoy. She has already had a rough day." Harry replied in a slightly defeated tone. He wasn't exactly sure why he was trying to defend his aunt. But between her and Uncle Vernon, Harry would have liked her better, if only…

"Come on, I'll show you to the guest room." He turned around and started up the stairs.

* * *

Grabbing his luggage and following Potter up the narrow stair case, Draco couldn't help but look around at the house he would be spending the rest of his summer. On the walls he watched as a very round baby boy grew into a round toddler to a rather round child and thus up through his teenage years. There was a smiling couple occasionally pictured with the round child, and even fewer yet was another round, older looking lady, who had quite a similar appearance as the boy and what Draco assumed was the father, judging by his size. What surprised Draco the most was that not once did he see proof anywhere that Potter had grown up in this house with this family at all. No messy black mop to distract the eye in any photos that covered all the walls and table tops.

Draco must have stopped to study the pictures closely, for he did not notice that Harry had already reached the top of the stairs and was now staring back down at him. An undistinguishable look on his face gave away to the conflicting emotions running through him, as he watched his nemesis study the photos the lined the staircase. Harry couldn't take the silence, even though he was the only one aware of it. Draco kept looking around and was still completely clueless.

"Are you looking for something?" Harry asked, breaking the silence. He grinned maliciously watching Malfoy jump from the sound of his voice. That alone let Harry know how deep in thought the other boy must have been.

"What?" Quickly looking around for where Potter's voice came from, "No, no, nothing at all," Malfoy snapped back. He slowly started to take a few more steps up the stairs, still looking around him. "It's just," he started, almost sounding like someone else entirely, none of the lazy drawl or contempt from his voice. Almost like someone who was unsure of his welcome or questions. "It's just that if I didn't know any better, I would say that you didn't live here or even existed." He said, gesturing to the pictures around them, trying to sound board and uninterested, but failing slightly.

"That's the way they like to keep things, out of sight out of mind." Harry said with little emotion in his voice. "They can pretend that I don't exist while I'm away at school." Malfoy didn't really know what to say to that. He being an only child who had a dotting mother growing up, had hallways dedicated to his sneering portraits scattered about Malfoy Manor. He was just about to open his mouth and say who knows what when Harry cut in again.

"Enough, your room is just down the hall," And he took off, not waiting for the other boy to catch up again. Draco started to wonder if there was even any photo evidence that Potter was ever a child. He was suddenly thankful that his mum at least was still alive. Once again deep in thought, Draco walked right into the still form of Potter.

"What are you doing? Stopping in the middle of the hallway?" Draco snapped. Now looking up and realizing that the other boy was holding a door open that lead into a small bed room that was mostly decorated in light blue flowers and was about half the size of his closet back home. Too shocked to make a scathing comment about his future living arrangements, he didn't notice Potter walking back down the short hall to the door closet to the stair case.

Potter stopped before entering his own room and called back over his shoulder to Draco, "You better change out of those robes into some muggle street clothing, and then meet me down stairs in the living room. We've got some things that need to be discussed." Draco nodded his head once in understanding without looking back down the hall. The room in front of him was holding most of his attention. He dragged his suit case behind him into the blue hell.

* * *

Harry flopped down on his back staring up at the ceiling. His bed was lumpy and uncomfortable like always, but wasn't aware of that now. His mind was focused on the room at the end of the hall. Whenever Marge would visit that would be the room she would stay in. Even had a separate bed for her beloved dog. And now his worst school enemy was in there. A whole summer stuck together due to some unforeseen class scheduling mix up seemed to be a bit too suspicious for Harry.

His mind raced to put together any pieces that would make sense of why Malfoy would be sent to his house in the summer. He claimed that he hadn't had any contact from his father, but who knew what kind of dark skills they possessed. Perhaps owl post wasn't necessary for communication between father and son. If that was the case, Harry decided that no matter what he would have to be on guard. He was unsure of what kind of dastardly deeds they were plotting. Most likely somehow capturing Harry and giving him over to the Dark Lord or just killing him by themselves. As Harry rolled these thoughts around in his mind a crease was forming between his eyebrows. Of course the Dark Lord would want to finish Harry off himself now that he had managed to escape so many times, so surly Malfoy wouldn't kill him, but better to be safe than sorry and dead.

Gazing over to the open window trying to tempt in a cool summer breeze, Harry wished that Hedwig was back from her previous delivery. He was planning what to write and to who. A sharp pain lanced through his heart as he thought of writing to Sirius. He would have given anything at that moment if he could only be able to talk to his godfather once more. To apologize. To tell him how much he missed him. To have one last chance to say the things he never had the opportunity or experience saying.

Trying to get his mind off such a saddening topic, he was sure that Hermionine and Ron would want to know about his current living arrangements. Perhaps they would have some good suggestions. He smirked to himself as a voice resembling Hermionie's started rambling on inside his head. "You should keep a sharp eye on him. He may be collecting information to use against you later. Getting a feel for an easy attack from inside. You should write to Dumbledor, he would want to be informed of this too."

As the voice quieted, a realization hit Harry right smack dab in the head. Dumbledore! Why hadn't he thought of that sooner? There was something odd about that parchment he read and now that the shock was starting to wear off, he could properly recall what was on there. Once Harry had touched that parchment and was reading it, he noticed his sloppy signature appear on a line at the bottom. Next to five other names already placed on their respective lines. Narcissa Malfoy followed by Draco's name. Below those were Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape's names, them being the head of each students house. And below their names was Dumbledore.

He knew. Dumbledore knew that he was signing a parchment that once his Aunt had started to read would place Draco Malfoy in the same house as him for the entire summer. How could he do that to Harry. He felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head and his stomach was filled with worms that were trying to escape. Betrayal, which was what he was feeling.

Unable to sit still any longer Harry dashed out of bed. He was ready to storm downstairs and demand an explanation from Malfoy. Surly he must be aware of what was going on. A wild thought raced through his mind. Maybe Dumbledore's signature had been faked! But that was very unlikely. It was in the same large scrolling silver ink that he has always used. Plus being able to fool the parchment by touch seemed to be beyond ordinary wizarding skills. It looked like an official document.

"_Wait…official document? Did Malfoy say something about the Ministry?"_ Harry thought to himself, gazing out the window. _"Of course! The owl! He recognized it as a bird from the ministry."_ Now glaring towards the bedroom door and what lay outside waiting for him.

Dumbledore knew Malfoy was staying under the same roof as him. The ministry had the official parchment of everyone's signatures. Everyone knew the Dark Lord had returned by the events at the ministry. So why place his number one support's son in his house for the entire summer. It made no sense to Harry. He was now pacing through the cramped space of his room. From the window to the desk, around the bed to the closet, past the door and back to the window. He was missing an important puzzle piece and it was driving him nuts. It was right on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn't get it.

A sudden knocking on the door caused him to miss a turn and Harry kicked his desk in mid stride.

"Shit!" He cried out in surprise as pain arched up his leg from his injured foot. "What!" He hollered at the door as he hobbled over to his bed.

* * *

He had done what he was told. He was sitting in the now vacant living room waiting for Potter to get down here and have whatever discussion he thought they needed over and done with. Also complying with Potter's request of donning Muggle clothing. He was glaring at the clothes long enough to burn a hole in through them. Finally realizing that this was one obstacle that he would not be able to get over. Grudgingly zipping up the pair of blue jeans and shrugged on the shirt. With that he had proceeded to the living room. Now looking at the clothing, he felt like he was perhaps trying too hard to fit in with his new surroundings. He felt like someone else completely, no familiar flow of his robes. No convenient place to stash his wand in case of emergencies. So of course he was glaring at everything.

Draco found himself tempted to start pacing the room. It was small enough that it wouldn't take very long to make a round. Fighting for control with his natural instincts he slowly got up from the sofa and meander over to the window. Picking up the bottle of scotch and getting a good whiff, realizing that at least Potter's Aunt knew enough to have the good stuff. Setting the decanter back down a sound from the open window called Draco's attention. There was a rather large boy teetering perilously on a bicycle slowly coming nearing. He had a group of boys following him on their bikes down the middle of the road as well. A sinking feeling in his stomach recognized him as the other youth to live under this roof from all of the pictures on the walls. Draco glanced around the small living room and up the stairs in annoyance that Potter was still absent for their meeting. Quickly weighing possible outcomes of the next few minutes, Draco decided to move things along to his liking.

He dashed up the stairs just as he was able to hear a murmur of voices from outside in the yard. The clank of metal on cement and rough laughter from someone's expenses.

He made it to top of the stairs just as the door handle was rattling. Draco, how ever undignified for a Malfoy, pounded on Potter's door urgently. There was a muffled thud heard through the door followed by cursing. A slight grin appeared on Draco's features. He was silently laughing to himself when the door in front of his face was jerked open and an angry looking Potter was on the other side.

"What? How many times are you going to make me repeat myself? What. Do. You. Want?" His eyes were very green. That was what Draco remembered the most. Livid, angry, green eyes; framed by those ridiculous glasses. At least the glasses weren't thick. But that wasn't what was important, what was truly important was the fact that Draco didn't know what he would have done if Potter's cousin had walked into the living room and there was a strange boy sitting in there instead of a familiar face. Draco was actually slightly intimidated by Potter's cousin's shear size of mass. Without magic, Draco was feeling paranoid just enough to not trust anybody. Not that he trusted most people, but here no one knew of his father's threat or the power that came with the Malfoy name.

"Move over Potter. Your cousin is home and I have no wish to be in the same room as him." He sneered. Shoving Potter out of the way and into the room beyond. Draco managed to take about three steps inside before he realized what he was looking at. The soft click of the door behind him registered just how desolate and empty this space was. Sure it was filled with a bed and dresser, typical furniture expected for any bedroom, but what perhaps shocked Draco the most was the lack of personality in the room. It felt like a cell. One glance at the window and noticing the bars Draco didn't feel reassured about his assumption in the least.

* * *


End file.
